Alternative
by Straybow
Summary: An alternate ending to the game Live-a-Live. Orsted's scenario; the story is about the same until the starting point of this story, where the plot begins to change.
1. The Retreat

Alternative Chapter 1 -- The Retreat  
  
Disclaimer: Squaresoft of Japan owns this game, Live-a-Live, and all the characters in it. I am not involved; I'm just a fan.  
  
Author's Note: First of all, SPOILERS! The beginning of this story contains spoilers for Orsted's scenario. From a certain point, it changes to my version of the story, eventually leading up to the spoiler-filled alternate ending. But don't worry, that's not until several chapters later (  
  
With one last, powerful stroke, Hash sliced the demon in two. He grinned as the two chunks of monster fell to the cavern ground, and quickly deteriorated, soon leaving only dust. He watched as puddles of blood evaporated and joined the murky atmosphere. "Goodbye, Demon King." He said sarcastically as he slid his large blade back into its scabbard.  
  
Orsted was gasping for breath, holding his broken arm, amazed at his companion warrior's superior fighting skills. He turned to look at Uranus and Straybow, the two mages, who were standing at a distance. Neither looked harmed.  
  
Hash walked over to the young warrior. "That couldn't have been the real Demon King." He said aloud, so his two other companions, who were steadily approaching, could also hear. "Too damn weak."  
  
Uranus approached them. "Everyone okay?" He glanced at Hash, who flashed him with a lopsided grin. Then he turned to Orsted, and a frown burrowed his face. "Are you alright, boy?"  
  
Straybow rushed over to his best friend's side, and examined the wound. "A broken arm. Can you heal it, Uranus?" He asked, with a tint of concern in his voice.  
  
The healer nodded. He chanted some words for a moment, then shouted, "God bless!" And pointed his palms toward Orsted. Bright energy waves, a merge of yellow, white, and red, flowed and surrounded the young fighter. Soon Orsted felt alive again, as the pain in his arm faded away. When the healing light faded away, he felt as if he had just woken up from a long, comfortable sleep. He turned to the healer.  
  
"Thank you, Uranus." He said, smiling. He was about to say more, but something in another room caught his eye. The foreboding, cold statues, scattered throughout the room before them, were shaking. His companions turned to see what he was looking at, and their faces, too, grew troubled. Soon a low rumble, growing steadily louder, emanated through the cave walls. Soon everything was violently vibrating.  
  
"Dammit, what's happening?!" Cried a frustrated Hash.  
  
Uranus looked around, head moving from side to side rapidly. "It appears that that monster, obviously not the Demon King, was holding the wards upon this cavern together. With his death, these protection wards must have collapsed." The others seemed to understand what he was saying, but he continued anyway. "Therefore, this cave will be collapsing on our heads in moments."  
  
All in unison, they started running. Orsted led, with Straybow behind him, Uranus lagging behind somewhat, and Hash in the back, slowed down by his heavy armor. They ran through the room with the statues, and continued into a long tunnel. They ran and ran, but no end seemed to appear in front of them. Suddenly, a deafening noise broke out above them, as a piece of the cavern top crashed down onto the middle of the tunnel. Orsted turned to watch the destruction, and saw that the fallen rock had completely covered the tunnel path. He checked to see if everyone had managed to bypass the obstacle. Straybow was only a few feet behind him, also staring in shock at the destruction. Uranus had either stepped back to examine the fallen piece of ceiling, or had only barely made it. In the second case, that would mean...  
  
"Hash!" Orsted called out, despite his inside instincts to stay calm. The hero had either gotten crushed under the boulder, or was stuck on the other side. Even if he was still safe, he probably couldn't hear his voice. There seemed to be no way for him to escape death...  
  
Orsted wiped away unfallen tears. He turned and stared at the cavern maze in front of them. He knew that if he and his surviving companions did not get out fast, they would meet the same fate as the hero. "Dammit..." The warrior whispered, before turning once more to his comrades. "Straybow, Uranus, we must go."  
  
Uranus turned to him with despair in his eyes, but nodded. "Let's run."  
  
And run they did. They ran through halls, and long tunnels, and spaced out rooms. Many times, in his haste, Orsted (who was leading the group) had made a wrong turn, and after a few more minutes of running had come to a dead end. Then they had had to turn around. It seemed that they wouldn't make it out, but finally in the distance, as the whole cave was crashing down behind them, Orsted noticed light in the distance. He increased his speed even more, seeing as rocks were crashing down even around the entrance. He feared a larger one may have blocked it off. He could hear Straybow and Uranus's footsteps pounding on the cave ground with increased force, as well.  
  
The last few moments in the cave happened very fast. Orsted heard a large rock letting loose right above the entrance, and knew that if he did not act fast, they would all be killed. He made one large dive and slid right beneath the falling rock and into the soil and dirt outside. Then he heard an extremely deafening noise, as the entire mountain collapsed on itself.  
  
Once his ears recovered from the blast, he turned to look at his companions. Straybow was right beside him, covering his ears with his hands and cringing. Uranus was not to be seen, though. Orsted forced himself onto his knees and looked back at the destruction. The healer was not there. The young warrior was about to fall into despair when he heard a familiar voice.  
  
"Looking for me, boy?" The voice was coming from Uranus himself, Orsted noticed when he turned to look where it was coming from. Orsted jumped up in a wave of happiness and rushed to embrace the older man. The magic user was surprised, but then understood the boy's emotions and smiled.  
  
Soon, Straybow was with them, too, a large grin on his face. After everyone calmed down, Orsted asked, "How did you make it?"  
  
Uranus only widened his smile. "Do not underestimate my magical powers, boy." The two best friends looked confused, so the older man elaborated. "I knew I was not going to make it, so I used up all my energy to teleport out. I may be old, but I'm not willing to die yet." He sighed, then, clearly exhausted. "I have used much of my magic power, and needed to draw some that it was not in my strength to take. I may not be able to use magic for a few days."  
  
Orsted and Straybow did not care. "It doesn't matter. What's important is that you're alive!" Straybow was saying. Orsted felt exactly the same.  
  
Then Uranus's face saddened. "About the princess..." He began, but Orsted shrugged it off.  
  
"There was nothing we could do. Even Hash perished in trying to escape, there was no way we could find Alicia, as well." His appearance was composed, but inside he was torn apart. My betrothed... and Lucretia's greatest hero... both dead, just because we defeated some minor monster. But he knew, too, that it wasn't entirely his fault. The king would understand. They had been trying to help, not harm.  
  
Straybown and Uranus were looking at him, concerned. The young swordsman broke the pressure by laughing. "Don't worry about me." He said, meaning every word. "Let's return to the castle and tell all this to the lord king."  
  
His two companions nodded, and the three survivors walked steadily away from the rubble and destruction behind them. 


	2. The Arrival

Alternative Chapter 2 -- The Arrival  
  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Live-a-Live! Square does! This message was also supposed to appear on Chapter 1, but what the heck.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, this is Chapter 2. I'm going to have to try pretty damn hard from now on, so that this doesn't turn into a freaking soap opera ^^ ... Well, by now the plot is my own creation, and I'm beginning to bastardize the characters a bit more. Not a good thing, but the game *does* leave open a lot of room for our creativities. Well, anyway, enjoy!  
  
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"It's a beautiful day, isn't it?" Straybow asked cheerily as they walked through the fruitful land of Lucretia. Sparrows and other birds were flying across the sky and among the many trees. Squirrels, racoons, and sometimes foxes raced on the flowering ground. The trees and grass grew, with an almost happy aura released from them. Orsted breathed in the many wonderful scents, and smiled.  
  
"It is," He said. "Despite everything else that's happened this morning..."  
  
Straybow frowned. "C'mon, Orsted, cheer up. We gotta put the past behind us!" Then his expression turned a little more serious. "How do you think I felt when you... when you beat me at the tournament?"  
  
This was somewhat of a shock to Orsted; his friend was not one to wear his emotions on his sleeves. Even though they were best friends, Orsted felt that Straybow kept many things from him. At this, he was slightly taken aback. "I thought... you..." He shook his head in disbelief, before trying to compose his thoughts. "But then why would you come help me?"  
  
The long-haired mage looked at him, with a coldness in his eyes. After a long silence, in which they just continued walking, side by side, with Uranus bringing up the rear, he said, "Because I, too, love --loved-- Alicia."  
  
Orsted stopped dead in his tracks. Straybow didn't notice at first, but soon paused and spun on his heel to face his friend. Orsted knew that his face showed exactly what he was thinking, and that he need not speak. He did anyway. "I... merciful gods, Straybow, I'm..."  
  
"Don't speak, you idiot." Straybow said as something resembling a grin crawled onto his face. "The king wanted her for the strongest. You were the strongest... you deserved her..." Then his expression grew angry, and again surprising Orsted at this change of personality, he turned and ran.  
  
Orsted was about to make after him, but Uranus stopped him. "He needs to be alone. He must deal with this loss."  
  
The young warrior looked at the older man, concerned for his friend. "If I had known..."  
  
"If you had known, you would've let him win. I know you well, even though we haven't been companions for longer than a week." Uranus said, interrupting him. "He will overcome himself, I'm sure."  
  
Orsted was silent.  
  
Uranus sighed. "Come on, now, boy. Let's walk, and you tell me about your friendship with Straybow."  
  
So they did. Orsted was at first somewhat ashamed at telling all this to the healer, but after some reassurance, he decided it was for the better. "We have been friends since childhood... we went to the same school, were taught the arts of fighting together... we've been best friends as far back as I can remember. I guess this is why I'm so... well, frightened... at this whole ordeal."  
  
Uranus nodded, weighing the young warrior's words. "Have you been at equal terms, at least most of the time? Has there ever been competition that could lead to this outburst?"  
  
Orsted thought for a few minutes before replying. "I guess I was always the leader... I was respected more highly by our teachers and lectors. The king and his court favored me more, because I had chosen sword over magic."  
  
Uranus nodded at this with a look on his face, that Orsted guessed was reminiscence of his training with Hash. He had been the magic user, Orsted realized... could this be the same situation? Is this why Uranus wanted to hear about it? Orsted did not know, so he continued anuways.  
  
"From then on, he grew more quiet, and less open towards me. Maybe he thought that I was the winner, and he was the loser... but I would have gotten nowhere, and I mean NOWHERE without Straybow. Without him, I would have been a cripple, or a beggar, or something like that. It really boggles the mind, now. I always thought I was considerate of him, but I see that now..."  
  
Uranus smiled. They were reaching the crossroads, where one path led to the castle and town, and one led to Lucretia Village. "As you may have guessed, you and Straybow just seem like young versions of Hash and me. Leave this Straybow issue to me; you go to the king and tell him what happened."  
  
Orsted nodded. "But, are you not coming with me?"  
  
"My guesses lead me to think that Straybow has retired to our childhood village. That is where I would always go when I thought the world was unfair... on those not-too-rare occasions when I despised Hash. Straybow was born in Lucretia Village, too, if I remember correctly?"  
  
Orsted smiled, hearing the two older men's childhood histories. "Yes, this is where Straybow was born."  
  
"Therefore you see my point," The healer explained. He put his hand on Orsted's shoulder. "Don't worry about anything. Don't lose sleep over this. Just go to the king and tell him what you can."  
  
Orsted nodded, and watched as Uranus continued on the straight path leading to the village. He, on the other hand, turned towards the castle and started walking. As he let fall light footsteps on the dusty path, he took note of the absence of monsters. He had sighted some among bushes or under trees, but surprisingly, they did not attack either the three humans on their journey back from the cave, or the animals around them.  
  
The young warrior wondered why it was so. When the four had been traveling down from the Hero's Mountain, towards the Devil's Cavern, the monsters had been rampaging everything and everyone that passed even three dozen feet away from their dens. Their blades and rods had not been at peace the whole time down one mountain and under another.  
  
He soon noticed the snowy Hero's Mountain looming in the distance. There was a slightly hidden turn off the main road that led to the cliff, but that was not Orsted's destination. He turned his head to glance at the far- off towers of the Lucretian Castle. The king and townspeople awaited him there.  
  
The sun was setting behind the western mountains in the distance by the time the young warrior reached the city. Townspeople eyed him with concern and wonder as he walked, grudgingly, through the main road leading through the city. They who had been so eager to see him leave, so positive in their thoughts that he would bring back the princess, that he would be their hero... and now they were afraid to look him in the eye.  
  
Was loss really such a scary thing? Orsted thought as he motioned silently for the guards to open the gates before him. Was it really all that different from victory?  
  
He walked straight, through the courtyard, until he could see the king sitting on his large dragonbone chair. He knelt before his master, and bowed his head. "My lord and king..." He began. 


	3. The Exchange

Alternative Chapter 3 -- The Exchange  
  
DISCLAIMER: Live-a-Live was made by Square. Yeah, they're geniuses. All that happens here, characters and places and stuffs, are Square's. Don't sue me for defying copyright, or else I'll present this disclaimer in court. *evil grin*  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hopefully... the soap operas will end in this chapter. This is just Uranus and Straybow in Familia village (as Silver Dragon kindly pointed out, thanks dude!) Uh... okay, whatever. Let's get on with this, and end it quickly.  
  
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Uranus welcomed the sights of Familia Village, his home. There were very few buildings in the town, and the old man's wooden hut was in the farthest corner, close to the woods surrounding Familia. As he expected, Uranus found Straybow sitting under a maple tree, his head in his lap.  
  
The healer sat down next to the boy. "You all right?" He asked, real concern in his voice.  
  
Straybow looked up. Uranus was surprised to find that there were no signs of tears on the boy's face. Instead, the older man could feel a strong anger with even a small hint of hatred.  
  
Upon seeing who was trying to talk to him, Straybow frowned. "Leave me alone!"  
  
Uranus had more patience than the average man, so he only smiled and continued to look into the boy's eyes. The sorcerer frowned again and turned away, unable to hold the healer's peaceful gaze. "You can't help me. Leave me alone."  
  
The healer sighed. "You're just like I was, when I was your age."  
  
"I don't care what you were like at my age! I don't care! LEAVE ME ALONE!" Straybow shouted, kicking the ground in frustration. Dust rose from the ground and thinned as it traveled upward into the air.  
  
"I know how you feel."  
  
"No you don't!"  
  
"If you just."  
  
"LEAVE ME ALONE!"  
  
"Won't you listen to me?!" Uranus finally snapped. The sorcerer did not reply. Reluctantly, he turned to look at the healer, but the older man could clearly see the disregard in his eyes. "Thank you," Uranus said in a quieter voice. He noticed two little boys who had been running around the town had stopped and were staring at the two sitting under the tree. Seeing Uranus's gaze, they innocently returned to their play.  
  
Uranus opened his mouth to speak, but instead it was Straybow who raised his voice. "Orsted is just too full of himself. No matter how cheerful and helpful I try to be, he still acts the role of the hero. But where would he be without me? Where would he be?!"  
  
"In a faraway, warring land, there lived two men," Uranus began calmly. "Two spearmen. Together, they destroyed an enemy squadron by capturing the commander and wiping out the rest as they retreated. Neither played a greater role, and both acknowledged each other's involvement. They knew that neither of them could have done it alone. But when they returned to their army's camp, one of the spearmen proclaimed their victory. The victorious army's generals all began to praise that spearman, but the other was left without any glory at all. The first did not bother to mention the deeds of his companion. And although the first got all the recognition from the war leaders, the only one that acknowledged the second spearman was the woman they both loved. The first spearman was respected by his entire army and kingdom, while the second was respected by one person, but that one person meant more to him than riches or power. Now, which spearman was truly happy in the end?"  
  
Straybow did not say anything at first. The two mages sat together, the scent of the maple tree filling their nostrils. Finally, Straybow whispered, "So do you mean to say.?"  
  
"I mean to say the first spearman is Orsted, and was Hash so many years ago. And the second spearman. that is you and me."  
  
Again, Straybow remained silent, contemplating both the story and his own situation. "But the princess is meant for Orsted, not for me. I do not get any acknowledgment, from anyone! It's always Orsted. especially now!"  
  
"But she is still in the hands of the Demon King. It can all yet change."  
  
"Perhaps." replied the sorcerer. "But why are you alone? What happened to the one whom you and Hash loved?"  
  
A shadow appeared to fall over Uranus's face. His face was twisted into a bitter frown of irony. "She died, because I could not save her."  
  
Straybow said no more, because he knew that the usually calm and cheery healer was not willing to talk about this. They sat together for a long time, enjoying the simplicity of the village, the trees, and the woods around them. They sat there, without speaking, until Uranus noticed the sun that was beginning to set beyond the distant mountains.  
  
Rising from his seat, he said, "I think it is time we return to the king, and meet with Orsted. You will be able to face him now, I hope?"  
  
Straybow smiled and sprang eagerly onto his feet. "He is my best friend after all!"  
  
Laughing, they traveled out of Familia Village and into the dirt road that led to Lucretia. The sun was sinking quickly.  
  
"I'm sure our warrior friend explained everything to his majesty," Uranus said. "We must return now and rest. But I advise you. talk to Orsted. Don't keep it all inside yourself. I'm sure he'll be considerate."  
  
Straybow nodded. "And tomorrow, what will we do?"  
  
"That is up to the king's wishes. But do not worry about tomorrow, for now. Sleep believing that Hash is alive - after all, there is as much possibility of his being alive as of his being dead!"  
  
And they continued upon the path that led them to Lucretia, while darkness settled in lazily around them. 


End file.
